The more things change the more they stay the same
by xfmoon
Summary: Something is about to change for our heroes. This ended up a little fluffier than intended.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Mentalist, not even a little bit ;)

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She was running late. Her hair was a mess of irregular dark curls and her dress didn't quite fit the way she wanted it to. As she descended the stairs in a tempered jog, one hand fiddling with the lock on her new earring, she reached the bottom step and stopped dead in her tracks. Something wasn't right here! Someone was in her house… and what was that smell? It smelled like... no it couldn't be. She reached for her gun. Then remembered what she was wearing and cursed the dress for being impractical. She snuck over to where she hid her off-duty gun, gently drew it from its holster and inched towards where the smell was coming from…, the kitchen. As she got closer she could hear something rumble around in there and so she lifted her gun to eye-level bursting in to surprise the perp in action, shouting _"CBI, drop your..."_ before she saw who it was and the rest of the sentence faded into oblivion.

xxx

Patrick Jane had been minding his own business just hustling a bit around Lisbon's kitchen, no biggy right? Obviously senior agent Teresa Lisbon felt differently. Startling him by more or less jumping into the kitchen gun raised and ready to fire. Those people and their guns, he thought, mentally shaking his head in dismay.

Obediently, or probably more out of surprise, he dropped what he'd been holding in his hands. The stirrer fell to the floor with a little thud, sending with it a cascade of dough unto the clean tiles and the nearest cupboards.

Lisbon lowered her gun. Looking dumbfounded at her consultant, who wore an expression that was close to matching her own. She was the first to speak.

_"What the hell are you doing here?"_ The question hung in the air for a few seconds.

_"Lisbon dear, language please."_ He said trying to sound offended by her crude words.

_"Don't give me any of that. Talk! Now!"_ Her blood was starting to boil.

Another beat went by where no one said anything. Jane took that time to quietly observe how Lisbon looked. Her hair was curlier than usual, her makeup seemed to highlight her sea green eyes and flattered her lovely cheekbones, her no sleeve, knee-long dress was a pale shade of green and seemed to hug her body perfectly, and lastly she was standing completely barefoot on the cold floor, not having had time to find any shoes before she'd decided to come in here and scare him half to death. She looked stunning and the last detail made her so endearing he just couldn't help but smile fondly at her.

When he didn't answer she crook her head sideways and said _"What are you smiling at? What the hell's so funny?"_

He just kept smiling, letting it grow into a more secretive smirk, raising one eyebrow at her while he turned around to find something to wipe the floor and cupboards with. She obviously wasn't going to get a straight answer so she decided to leave the kitchen to go and put the gun away. When she returned he was done cleaning, and sat on one of her high stools waiting patiently for her. She had calmed down a little in the meantime and so she walked over, sat down, looked at him questioningly then asked _"Well?"_

_"Well what?"_

_"What are you doing here, Jane?"_

_"Well I was making crepes, until you so rudely interrupted me."_ He said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

_"Crepes!?"_

_"Yes, it's very thin pancakes, that..."_

_"I know what a crepe is Jane. Do __**you**__ know what a creep is?"_ Her tone was slightly annoyed. His eyes lost a little of its sparkle at the comment, but before he could reply she continued._ "I'm just confused as to why were you making crepes in my kitchen?"_

_"It was a surprise."_ He said, giving her a bright smile.

_"Well it certainly was that, wasn't it?"_

_"I thought you'd be happy."_ His smile faltered a little.

_"I am, Jane. It's just I don't do surprises very well. I get enough of those at work."_ She narrowed her eyes glaring at him. He smiled a bit sheepishly, like a boy caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

_"Anyways why didn't you say something, I thought I was running late and I got all dressed up for no reason."_

_"Oh so that's why you're so grumpy. You do know there's no rule against eating crepes in high heels and fancy dresses."_

_"I'm not wearing heels, genius. And I don't see you wearing a dress either."_ She was grinning now, making her look more radiant.

_"Well I can go change if you like. You have something that fits me right?"_ That earned him a tap on his biceps, he faked hurt, and they both got down from the chairs.

About to leave the kitchen, she asked: _"So should I go change into something more casual?"_

_"No don't do that, I think you look absolutely beautiful just like that."_ He said and meant it.

She averted her eyes, saying: _"Thank you"_ as a nice tint of pink shaded her cheeks.

And so she sat back up in the high chair, watching him as he continued his master chef cooking, all the while dangling her bare feet methodically back and forth, hitting the counter ever so often, unconsciously creating a beat, that fit nicely into his cooking rhythm.

xxx

When he was almost done Lisbon started making some tea and coffee. She wanted to set the table, but instead Jane excused himself, and instructing her to not leave the kitchen, then he disappeared for a little while, coming back with a huge secretive grin on his face. Lisbon eyed him suspiciously. _"What did you do?"_ She asked not at all comfortable with a situation she wasn't in control of.

He just put his finger to his mouth pretending to zip it closed. Two can play at that game she thought and scowled in his direction. He took a tray put everything on it, and said she should wait about five minutes before coming in then he went into the living room again.

After the minutes were up she cautiously went in. With Jane you never knew, there might be an elephant in the room, no pun intended, there might actually be a real life elephant in there, heck he put a pony in her office once, so why not an elephant in her living room, you just never knew with him. What she saw however surprised her more than an actual elephant would have.

_"Oh my God, Jane."_ She was at a loss for words. _"This is..., this is beautiful."_

He had been looking at her face seizing up the emotions as they expressed themselves there. Feeling happy that he was able to make her happy, and a little proud that he was the cause of her smiling that beautiful smile of hers. _"I thought you'd like that." _He said, while putting an arm around her shoulder and guiding her gently towards the sight that had incited all of this.

xxx

The furniture was pushed out towards the walls and in the middle of the room lay a plaid blanket. On it was a vase filled with fresh flowers, which on closer inspection turned out to be a bouquet of intensely blue coloured hydrangeas, her favourite flower. Plates and cups were all neatly placed side by side and in the center could be seen a small bowl, filled to the rim with fresh, deliciously looking strawberries.

They sat down. On top of her napkin, Lisbon found a single deep red rose. She smiled, nobody had ever done something quite like this for her before. She lifted the rose to her nose, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the scent, it smelled like dew and summer days, which send her mind back to children running through cornfields, shouting and playing games. She opened her eyes to find Jane staring at her. _"What?"_ She asked not rudely but with a smile that matched his own.

_"Where did you go just now."_ He sounded genuinely curious.

_"A girl's gotta have some secrets."_ She said, having long since learned, that she wasn't as translucent to Jane as he had wanted her to think she was.

Jane started to pour the hot beverages while Lisbon launched for a crepe. _"So what ever happened to the fact that, you wouldn't seduce me over a meal?" _She asked with her mouth half full."

He smiled. _"Is that what I'm doing?"_

_"Isn't it?"_ For a split second she sounded unsure, but that passed fast.

_"So do you like them?"_ He asked expectantly, looking like a child on Christmas morning.

"_They're okay I guess."_ She teased, smiling heartily at him at the same time. _"They're not really the healthiest dinner I've ever had, but I can make do, as they're SOoo delicious."_

_"Aha, so you do like them."_ Now it was Jane's turn to smile. He just couldn't help himself, being around her made him wanna smile all the time.

He leaned over and gently pressed his lips to hers. She closed her eyes and smiled against the light pressure. He put a hand on her cheek, and the kiss deepened automatically. She tasted of jam. He pulled away, letting his hand rest on her cheek for a second more. She opened her eyes. _"Are you happy?"_ He asked letting his hand trace the outline of her face, and glide the rest of the way down through her curls.

_"Yes."_ She said, nodding. _"Very. Are you?" _Her eyes searched his for the answer.

_"I haven't been this happy for years."_ He said confirming what she saw in his eyes. Her hand found his resting on the blanket, and she squeezed it reassuringly.

_"Just tell me one thing." _She said.

_"For you my dear, anything."_

_"Why did you let me think we were going out? You know how I hate to dress up."_

_"Well I never said we were going out per se, and I just wanted to surprise you, but I'm flattered that you'd dress up for my sake." _That earned him another bash on the arm.

_"Ouch. Jeezz woman I'm gonna have to start charging you for my medical bills."_

_"Ha ha, very funny Jane. Why on earth would I pay for you to stay healthy? With all the grief you cause me."_

_"Oh well, I don't know, as my wife you're going to have to do something to earn all the fantastic food I'm gonna make you, that only seems fair."_

_"Your food isn't that fanta..." _She stopped midsentence. What had he just said? She looked at him, her eyes wide. He removed something from his inner pocket. A little red velvet box. She held her breath. He opened it and scooted over a little closer to her. Took her hands, looked her in the eyes, and with a slightly quivering voice he said:

Teresa. You are the best thing in my life. You have saved me in so many ways. You have brightened my world again. And I know that I don't have a lot to offer, but I must have done something right to deserve your love, and I promise you, that I will spend every day for the rest of my life making myself worthy of it. I want you to be happy, and I will do my best to make you smile, even when you're sad. And I will always be here for you no matter what. I love you, Teresa. Will you marry me?

Lisbon was stunned and rendered completely speechless, which isn't that fortunate in a situation like this. When the initial shock had subsided and she finally found her voice she was on the verge of tears, making her speech slightly distorted and incoherent. _"Yes. Yes! I will marry you. Of course I will."_ She said letting her tears flow freely now and throwing herself at him, so they almost fell down, hugging him tightly.

His face lit up. And after a minute he pulled back a little wiping away her tears. _"I hope those are happy tears."_ He said.

_"I could say the same to you."_ She replied. He didn't even know that he was crying too, he was just so happy.

Their faces mirrored each other's. Any traces of nerves or fear, at the prospect of committing fully to another, had completely evaporated. They were radiating excitement, happiness and pure bliss.

He took the plain gold ring from the box and slipped it on her finger, it fit perfectly. She kissed him intensely and then they went back to eating their crepes and strawberries, bantering and arguing over which was better tea or coffee. Some things never change, but this time something had, fortunately however everything still remained the same.

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**A/N:** Well that escalated fast. This turned out to be rather fluffy, if I do say so myself. I had absolutely no intension of making him propose to her when I started this, but I guess my muse had a different idea, oh well, it is as it should be, and nothing good ever comes from arguing with your muse anyway.

Today a year has passed since I first uploaded anything on here, wow time flies. Anyways I just wanted thank anyone who has ever read and/or reviewed any of my stories. Thank you very, very, very much, I really appreciate it! Love you all!


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